Spouse and I enjoy home improvement, so we've acquired a number of skills. Today they're taught everywhere-- Home Depot, Family Handyman magazine, numerous DIY websites. If you enjoy it and offer free warranty service then you're worth $25-$50/hour. Around here that's about half of what a plumber would charge.

It's amazing what people either can't or won't do for themselves.

__________________

__________________*
*The book written on E-R.org, "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement", on sale now! For more info see "About Me" in my profile.
I don't spend much time here anymore, so please send me a PM. Thanks.

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Spouse and I enjoy home improvement, so we've acquired a number of skills. Today they're taught everywhere-- Home Depot, Family Handyman magazine, numerous DIY websites. If you enjoy it and offer free warranty service then you're worth $25-$50/hour. Around here that's about half of what a plumber would charge.

It's amazing what people either can't or won't do for themselves.

I'd like suggestions on how to handle the friends who know that you have the skills but want you to work for free...or for a free meal (which only costs them a few bucks to make)?

I struggle with this as I don't want to seem rude....and sometimes the jobs they ask me to do seem simple or are just so odd (on a screen door: replacing the bracket that holds the hydraulic tube to the door frame or on a medicine cabinet: figuring out a workaround for a broken spring on one of the hinges -- after multiple trips to locate a new hinge or create a combination of old and new hinges, I ended up simply gluing a magnet to the back of the medicine cabinet door!) that they'd probably not be able to find some contractor to come out and do. Yet, often these jobs take an inordinate amount of my time -- either for my transportation to their house, driving around trying to find parts, or creating a retrofit solution for their situation.

I've also recently been asked to hang drapery rods, fix dishwashers and fix snowblowers. Additionally, on my way to a Christmas party, I was asked to stop and take a look at someone's broken garage door spring -- I told them it was beyiond my skillset.

I want to be a good friend (with the expectation that they'll be there for me, if and when I need help) but it's getting a bit old.

Since you want the money to travel, how about housesitting/caretaking? I've thought about it, but haven't gotten there yet. I think Sarah has used them when she was off riding camels.

It sounds like a great way to see places basically for free, with only minor responsibilities (petsitting, plant watering, etc) required. This way you won't have to pay to travel, which is sort of like earning money to allow you to travel, without the actual w*rk part.

__________________"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Anonymous (not Will Rogers or Sam Clemens)DW and I - FIREd at 50 (7/06), living off assets

__________________"It's tough to make predictions, especially when it involves the future." ~Attributed to many
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ~(perhaps by) Yogi Berra
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."~ Lau tzu

Spouse and I enjoy home improvement, so we've acquired a number of skills. Today they're taught everywhere-- Home Depot, Family Handyman magazine, numerous DIY websites. If you enjoy it and offer free warranty service then you're worth $25-$50/hour. Around here that's about half of what a plumber would charge.

It's amazing what people either can't or won't do for themselves.

Thanks for bringing this topic up. I doubt I could be a handyperson-for-hire but I have been meaning to take some classes, learn skills, so I could do some of my own work around the house.

Have any sewing skills? Being a seamstress might be a cool part-time job - that is, of course, if sewing is something you like to do.

__________________
simple girl less stuff, more time

(50, married; Mr. Simple Girl, 54. I am semi-retired as of 2015 (still have a part-time gig), Mr. Simple Girl hopes to fully retire 2019 (yep, we have the OMY syndrome...healthcare inflation is the culprit...and he wants a boat...not happening)

__________________"It's tough to make predictions, especially when it involves the future." ~Attributed to many
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ~(perhaps by) Yogi Berra
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."~ Lau tzu

I'd like suggestions on how to handle the friends who know that you have the skills but want you to work for free...or for a free meal (which only costs them a few bucks to make)?
I want to be a good friend (with the expectation that they'll be there for me, if and when I need help) but it's getting a bit old.

No easy answer.

One set of neighbors throw great Thanksgiving/Christmas parties, so we'll help them out whenever they want knowing that we'll have lifetime invitations. It's usually minor electrical problems like a broken Christmas ornament or an appliance repair.

Another woman is raising three kids on her own. (I've met the ex-husband. We are not impressed.) I've shown her and the kids how to fix the easier stuff (unplugging & resetting the disposal) and I charge $25/hour for the rest. She also provides yummy baked goods so that $25/hour is highly negotiable. Better yet, when I was considering ACL reconstruction she gave me the inside scoop on a new hotshot orthopedic surgeon (she's affiliated with a local health insurer). Unfortunately her house has gone through all the easy projects and she's facing repainting, recarpeting, and attic reflective foil insulation. I think she values our advice but I'm not sure that we want to tackle something that big.

We take care of a shipmate's house/tenant, and she's extremely generous. It's almost to the point of embarrassment but we love the exotic (to us) Mainland foods she sends and we manage to cash her checks. We think she sleeps better knowing that she's paying us what we're worth and still coming out ahead of a professional management company. We almost never hear from her tenants so it's no problem.

Most of the other neighbors have asked for an hour or two of help and no one has tried to take advantage of me. We reciprocate pretty fairly/quickly and they're always very generous with holiday food.

I've turned down a couple repairs that I knew immediately were beyond my interest or my (realistic) skill level-- leaky water pipes inside the wall, mold, A/C repairs, roof replacements. After all these years on discussion boards I'm pretty much immune to appeals ("Sorry, but I can refer you to a good contractor") and baiting ("You say you know I can handle this?!? Well, I could probably figure it out on the third try after two weeks, but this is a job for a pro.") I think if I got one more phone call than I was happy to help with, I'd start responding more slowly and finding schedule conflicts.

Hasn't been a big problem yet. Most Hawaii residents are very conscientious about omiyage & obligations, and the jobs I've tackled have either been interesting/fun ("Always wanted to work on one o' them!") or good karma.

Now if you're referring to the phone calls I used to get from my father-in-law, that's a whole 'nother can of issues. Most of them had to be chalked up to my good karma and his bad...

__________________*
*The book written on E-R.org, "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement", on sale now! For more info see "About Me" in my profile.
I don't spend much time here anymore, so please send me a PM. Thanks.

Beware of online adds for parttime or consulting work like the one above. This link leads to a UK company (IIB) that takes $20k from you in return for an accredidation (??) and some marketing advice. No thanks.

I am just throwing this out as "food for thought." Penelope Trunk, in today's post, -- How to figure out what you should be doing with your life -- may provide some insight into getting paid for doing what you want to do. Yeah, she writes to thirty-somethings who are trying to make it in the workplace rather than those trying to avoid it but as she says (and I concur):

Quote:

It's the grand democracy in the blogosphere that some of my favorite bloggers are in their early twenties. And some of the worst blogs are from people who are actually in positions of huge authority.

If you do read the article, make sure you also read some of the embedded links -- like "totally not fun" or "so I volunteered to do it for free," for instance.

__________________"It's tough to make predictions, especially when it involves the future." ~Attributed to many
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ~(perhaps by) Yogi Berra
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."~ Lau tzu

One set of neighbors throw great Thanksgiving/Christmas parties, so we'll help them out whenever they want knowing that we'll have lifetime invitations. It's usually minor electrical problems like a broken Christmas ornament or an appliance repair.

Another woman is raising three kids on her own. (I've met the ex-husband. We are not impressed.) I've shown her and the kids how to fix the easier stuff (unplugging & resetting the disposal) and I charge $25/hour for the rest. She also provides yummy baked goods so that $25/hour is highly negotiable. Better yet, when I was considering ACL reconstruction she gave me the inside scoop on a new hotshot orthopedic surgeon (she's affiliated with a local health insurer). Unfortunately her house has gone through all the easy projects and she's facing repainting, recarpeting, and attic reflective foil insulation. I think she values our advice but I'm not sure that we want to tackle something that big.

We take care of a shipmate's house/tenant, and she's extremely generous. It's almost to the point of embarrassment but we love the exotic (to us) Mainland foods she sends and we manage to cash her checks. We think she sleeps better knowing that she's paying us what we're worth and still coming out ahead of a professional management company. We almost never hear from her tenants so it's no problem.

Most of the other neighbors have asked for an hour or two of help and no one has tried to take advantage of me. We reciprocate pretty fairly/quickly and they're always very generous with holiday food.

I've turned down a couple repairs that I knew immediately were beyond my interest or my (realistic) skill level-- leaky water pipes inside the wall, mold, A/C repairs, roof replacements. After all these years on discussion boards I'm pretty much immune to appeals ("Sorry, but I can refer you to a good contractor") and baiting ("You say you know I can handle this?!? Well, I could probably figure it out on the third try after two weeks, but this is a job for a pro.") I think if I got one more phone call than I was happy to help with, I'd start responding more slowly and finding schedule conflicts.

Hasn't been a big problem yet. Most Hawaii residents are very conscientious about omiyage & obligations, and the jobs I've tackled have either been interesting/fun ("Always wanted to work on one o' them!") or good karma.

Now if you're referring to the phone calls I used to get from my father-in-law, that's a whole 'nother can of issues. Most of them had to be chalked up to my good karma and his bad...

One set of neighbors throw great Thanksgiving/Christmas parties, so we'll help them out whenever they want knowing that we'll have lifetime invitations. It's usually minor electrical problems like a broken Christmas ornament or an appliance repair.

Another woman is raising three kids on her own. (I've met the ex-husband. We are not impressed.) I've shown her and the kids how to fix the easier stuff (unplugging & resetting the disposal) and I charge $25/hour for the rest. She also provides yummy baked goods so that $25/hour is highly negotiable. Better yet, when I was considering ACL reconstruction she gave me the inside scoop on a new hotshot orthopedic surgeon (she's affiliated with a local health insurer). Unfortunately her house has gone through all the easy projects and she's facing repainting, recarpeting, and attic reflective foil insulation. I think she values our advice but I'm not sure that we want to tackle something that big.

We take care of a shipmate's house/tenant, and she's extremely generous. It's almost to the point of embarrassment but we love the exotic (to us) Mainland foods she sends and we manage to cash her checks. We think she sleeps better knowing that she's paying us what we're worth and still coming out ahead of a professional management company. We almost never hear from her tenants so it's no problem.

Most of the other neighbors have asked for an hour or two of help and no one has tried to take advantage of me. We reciprocate pretty fairly/quickly and they're always very generous with holiday food.

I've turned down a couple repairs that I knew immediately were beyond my interest or my (realistic) skill level-- leaky water pipes inside the wall, mold, A/C repairs, roof replacements. After all these years on discussion boards I'm pretty much immune to appeals ("Sorry, but I can refer you to a good contractor") and baiting ("You say you know I can handle this?!? Well, I could probably figure it out on the third try after two weeks, but this is a job for a pro.") I think if I got one more phone call than I was happy to help with, I'd start responding more slowly and finding schedule conflicts.

Hasn't been a big problem yet. Most Hawaii residents are very conscientious about omiyage & obligations, and the jobs I've tackled have either been interesting/fun ("Always wanted to work on one o' them!") or good karma.

Now if you're referring to the phone calls I used to get from my father-in-law, that's a whole 'nother can of issues. Most of them had to be chalked up to my good karma and his bad...

I've been working toward "don't do more for people than they are willing to do for themselves". Some things are work, plain and simple - there's no magic to the repetitive motion in scraping paint or nailing roofing. Betcha in 80% of the times people have asked for my help that when i tell them to trim the bushes away from the fence that needs repair or whatever the urgency disappears and months later the bushes are still there and the fence still needs repair. Thing is, they stop asking because the reason the fence still needs repair is they haven't invested a little of their effort to begin with.

I do fixit stuff for the people i want to help - some old folk, some without skills but doing their best, some because i like them. A very few people i help because they have honor and i know if i call on them they will return worthwhile help. Few people have the combination of obligation - and skills! - to tempt me. If you don't need much it's hard to be tempted. Had to look up omiyage - while appreciation and gifts of appreciation are welcome they do not compel me.

Beware of online adds for parttime or consulting work like the one above. This link leads to a UK company (IIB) that takes $20k from you in return for an accredidation (??) and some marketing advice. No thanks.

Good catch, TD, and good advice. Over the years, I had only surfed this site and looked at some of the ads.

I learned in my 20's that employment agencies that charge the applicant are a scam. I shoulda been more wary of how their methods have evolved in the internet age.

__________________*
*The book written on E-R.org, "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement", on sale now! For more info see "About Me" in my profile.
I don't spend much time here anymore, so please send me a PM. Thanks.

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